Miramar officials look to change pensions and hiring practices after public outrage

March 26, 2013|By Heather Carney, Sun Sentinel

MIRAMAR — A $2.4 million payout and retirement payments on top of salaries for city employees have residents outraged about how the city spends their tax dollars.

There are at least 17 city employees who retired and were rehired by the city, meaning they receive a pension on top of their annual salary paid for by the taxpayers, city officials say. This includes Assistant City Manager Vernon Hargray and Emergency Management Director Joe Cabrera.

Hargray receives an annual salary of $182,364 with an annual pension of $97,000. Cabrera earns an annual salary of $153,680, in addition to his annual pension of $93,000.

The outcry is prompting the City Commission to ask for an audit of all retired and rehired employees that could lead to a policy change for hiring practices.

"In the store, in the market, folks kept saying, 'What's happening, why are my taxpayer dollars being used for this?'" said Commissioner Alexandra Davis.

Residents started flooding city officials with calls and emails when City Manager Robert Payton abruptly retired last week and walked away with $2.4 million in pension payments. Then came reports that Payton's brother, Christopher, retired in 2007 and was rehired in a new position, only to continue receiving his annual pension and a higher than average salary for the job.

In neighboring Pembroke Pines, City Manager Charlie Dodge also double-dips. He retired in 2003, started collecting his $75,000 annual pension and was rehired as city manager. His current salary is $275,000.

Miramar resident Valerie Allen called the hiring practice a "travesty." Allen, who works for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, said she saw the same thing happen there.

"It's wrong — something needs to be done," said the 14-year Miramar resident. "There are so many unemployed people ... They could hire two or three people to fill those positions."

Miramar Mayor Lori Moseley, who was first elected to the commission in 1995, says the city rehired retired employees to retain experience as the city's population surged to more than 122,000.

"At the time, we had one of the fastest growing cities in the country," she said. "We also began to experience an economic downturn and wanted expertise on the staff to finish a project or plan that we were in the middle of … I understand and feel the frustration of everyone but you have to look at what the city has done in the last 20 years."

But new commissioners are saying it's time for a change. And Moseley agrees, now that the city's growth has stabilized.

Davis, who was elected in 2010, and Commissioner Wayne Messam, who was elected in 2011, say the recent events require a review of the city's deferred retirement option program (DROP) and hiring practices.

The commission plans to hire an outside human resources consulting firm to review the positions in question.

It's also considering removing the limited benefit employee category from the pay plan, those that fall into the same category as Hargray and Cabrera. City officials said this would prevent people from being rehired in the same position, making way for new hires that could save the city money. They said it would also create a more stable succession plan.

Yvette Burnett, who's lived in Miramar for 20 years, says the city should hire younger people to give them experience. She said paying for someone's salary and pension is too much money.

"We are going to do our best to make things right and to look at the compensation packages, DROP programs so that we don't get these kind of shocks years down the road," said Davis.